Casey Cep has created a beautifully written work, which evocatively conjures the lives of its subjects; author Harper Lee, lawyer Tom Radney and Reverend Willie Maxwell, alleged murderer and definite murder victim. It was Harper Lee intention to write a book about the Reverend's crimes and subsequent murder; she had a strong background in law in her own right and had meticulously assisted her friend Truman Capote in his research and writing of the ground-breaking 'In Cold Blood'. Cep skilfully portrays each of the main characters and events in this drama, from the murders, trials and fallout of the Maxwell case to Harper Lee's dedicated, but ultimately fruitless, efforts to work her research into a book for publication. Engagingly told, both as a sort of completion of Lee's research and as a portrait of an intriguing crime. Most of all, this is a fascinating, sometimes surprisingly moving portrait of one of the most popular, and most private, authors of the 20th Century.

What an interesting book this is. To my mind, a set of small books all intricately linked together so well that, in the end, the sum is so much greater than its parts. Each of those smaller books covers, in detail, an aspect of the original murders, the politics, the insurance industry etc, wrapped around and through with the life of Harper Lee. Full of what seem to be interesting asides which are, in reality, a fundamental part of the total narrative. If you have an interest in any of the following - Harper Lee, the history and/or problems of the South, Truman Capote, their two famous books (To Kill a Mocking Bird and In Cold Blood), the challenges facing an author attempting to write a "sequel" to To Kill a Mocking Bird that is all truth rather than part fiction - this is definitely a book worth your time.

I didn't really know a lot about Harper Lee before reading this book. I found her quite a fascinating lady. The author Casey Cep, has taken the facts that Harper Lee documented on, and revealed the account of Reverend William Maxwell who murdered his family members for insurance money. The writing and the history pulls you in straight away and keeps you captivated. A well written debut, not my usually reading material, but thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you netgalley, Casey Cep and Cornerstone Digital for allowing me to read and review this book.

What a fascinating story-I couldn't put it down!The story of Harper Lee's attempt to write a true crime novel is a gripping one,preceded by the story of the crime she spent years investigating and trying to write about. The book falls into three sections-the first sets the scene of the murder of Willie Maxwell,an Alabama preacher whose family members died in mysterious circumstances and who just happened to have taken out life insurance on all of them.He was tried for the crimes and acquitted.When he is shot by another family member at the funeral of the last victim ,it would seem he could only be convicted,given the number of witnesses. However ,he is ,ironically ,defended by the same lawyer who defended Maxwell and managed to have him acquitted ,and the lawyer gets the same result for the preacher's killer,on grounds of insanity.The second section deals with this trial,which was attended by Harper Lee,the author who had such success with 'To Kill a Mockingbird ' and famously only published one more novel years later. The third section tells the story of her life and attempts to write a novel based on the preacher's story,which was never finished.It's meticulously researched and explained and gives a fascinating picture of a complicated woman. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of the American South,or fans of literary history.Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.These opinions are my own.

This was very educational, not at all what I expected but enjoyable all the same. This book is split into three distinct parts. The first is a summary and history of the trial Harper Lee wanted to write a book about, it's VERY juicy and just brimming with voodoo, murder, insurance scams and a duplicitous preacher. The second part is about the Lawyer, Radney, who defended all the guilty parties in the cases. The final section of the book is about Lee herself. There is so much I never knew about Harper Lee, her birth name is Nelle Harper Lee and she was very good friends with Truman Capote and helped him write his book In Cold Blood. Furious Hours is a comprehensive look and the life and likes of Harper Lee.